Over the last twenty years, the popularity of recreational outdoor sports such as bicycling, in-line skating, rock climbing, skateboarding, etc. has increased dramatically. These activities have become especially popular among youths.
Simultaneous with this rise in popularity has been a corresponding increase in the public awareness of safety issues associated with such sporting activities. One result of this increased awareness has been the advent of protective sport helmets.
Such helmets are typically made of a light yet dense protective material, usually rigid styrene or urethane foam shaped in a generally oval shape to conform with the head of the wearer. Some of the helmets have been designed to include louvers or openings in the helmet to assist in circulating air between the helmet and the wearer's head. In addition, many of the subject helmets have been designed to include colorful graphics to enhance the appearance of the helmets.
A lingering problem with existing helmets, however, is that some individuals are reluctant to wear the protective helmets. Common complaints are that the appearance of the helmets is unattractive or too dull. As a result, significant numbers of individuals are engaging in recreational outdoor sporting activities without wearing a protective helmet. Such individuals are thereby risking unnecessary injury.
In addition to this problem, there is an ongoing goal to increase the protective features of the protective helmets for those who use the helmets. Such improvements are often times constrained by the nature of the helmet design, however. For example, some improvements are impractical since the helmet must remain light enough for the user to wear comfortably. Other improvements are impractical from a manufacturing standpoint. Yet other improvements are simply not cost-effective.